Lineup adjustments haven't hurt Tigers' success

Five players have started in left field and four in right for the Detroit Tigers this season. But while manager Jim Leyland would love to have Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez in the starting lineup every day, he has enjoyed the energy others have brought to the team.

"I've loved this," Leyland said. "I've had a lot of fun with it."

The Tigers have received an infusion of speed and energy with the changes as Clete Thomas and Josh Anderson have made an impact in the field, at the plate and on the base paths.

Thomas is hitting .302 and hit his first home run of the season Thursday in a 4-3 win over Texas, while Anderson is batting .288 and has a team-high eight steals. Ryan Raburn, another part-time starter in the corner outfield spots, homered in each of his three previous starts to help lift his average to .219.

The defensive difference has been notable. Thomas and Anderson have great speed and can cover a lot of ground, and Thomas showed a strong arm Thursday when he gunned down a runner at home to end a bases-loaded threat for Texas.

"What a tremendous play," Leyland said.

Thomas and Anderson have been the main fill-ins for starters Carlos Guillen, on the disabled list with Achilles' tendon and shoulder injuries, and Magglio Ordonez.

Ordonez has been the designated hitter in seven games and missed the series with the Rangers because his wife was undergoing a medical procedure. Marcus Thames also has been on the disabled list for most of the season and is expected to start a rehabilitation assignment next week.

Anderson (16 starts), Guillen (12), Raburn (six), Thomas (four) and Thames (one) have started in left field, while Ordonez (26), Thomas (nine), Anderson (two) and Raburn (two) have started in right. Curtis Granderson has started all 39 games in center.

The ever-changing outfield lineup doesn't even include Wilkin Ramirez, who homered Wednesday in his major league debut. He was the designated hitter in that game and was sent to Toledo after the game Thursday to make room for Ordonez to return.

"They're doing a good job," Leyland said. "But before it's all said and done, we're going to need Thames and Guillen and those guys to knock in runs.

"If they do, we'll be OK, and if they don't we won't. It's that simple."

Still, the energy those players have provided has been uplifting.

"It gets contagious," Leyland said. "When you've got energy, you get a lot of things going for you. Right now this club's got energy.